Digital Cameras in Classrooms

Today’s ‘standard’ technology is equipped with a camera. Why not harness the simple camera facility in the classroom for all aspects of teaching and learning.

It seems that today’s ‘standard’ technology is equipped with a camera. Why not harness the simple camera facility in the classroom for all aspects of teaching and learning. Taking photos in the classroom should not be completed as a standalone activity. It should have meaning and relevance thus integrating this skill into a real life context is ideal. Posing a simple question to children can lead to a hearty integrated inquiry.

In this case, the question of “If I were a Bee, what would I see?” lends itself to a literacy and numeracy approach. In literacy, students could research about bees, finding out information about its habitat, its behaviour, prey, predator, what it eats and its daily lifestyle. The children are encouraged to read for meaning when researching as they will be using their new gathered knowledge to inform their digital product. In numeracy, a look into counting patterns could be investigated through exploring the number of black stripes on a bee’s abdomen. The possibilities for integrating ICT into these two key learning areas are endless and should be tailored according to the needs of the students.

Once students can articulate what a bee may see on a busy spring’s day they can begin to take photos. The idea is for students to take photos of what a bee may see. For example, flowers. The student chooses one subject (flowers) and stands in a stationary position. They can take photos of the flowers on an angle, portrait or landscape positioning. They are to remain stationary. Once the photos have been taken (about 6-8) and printed they are to be arranged according to how a bee may possibly see. See example below. The idea is to layer the photos on top of one another so that each piece fits another.